IQALUIT - She might not leave the house to go to work in the morning like most people, but Aseena Allurut is still dedicated to her job: improving the literacy and essential skills of Iqaluit's workforce.

Aseena Allurut sits at her computer in her home office. She said working from home is different, but it has advantages, like being able to work at her own pace. At present, she is working with the Nunavut Literacy Council on a workplace education program. - Emily Ridlington/NNSL photo

"I don't think a program of this nature has been offered before," said Allurut, a former Arctic Bay resident.

In June, she began work as the literacy and essential skills co-ordinator with the Nunavut Literacy Council.

She is responsible for working on a three-year pilot project focusing on on-the-job training.

Once organizations in need are identified, Allurut has to do a workplace needs assessment, put together the materials and find an instructor. This way, she said, employees receive one-on-one training.

"It will make it so they are better at what they do," she said.

An example she gave was Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) training. She said she would focus on the literacy portion of the training and make it easier for employees to grasp. She said if a course was being offered on Microsoft Word, for example, it would be taught at different levels. Depending on the needs of the employees, the courses could be offered in English, Inuktitut or French.

Allurut has 12 years of experience working with the Government of Nunavut and almost six years working for the Nunavut Municipal Training Organization, offering training to municipal staff in the communities in the three regional centres in the territory.

Instead of heading out to an office, Allurut has to walk a few steps from her kitchen before she arrives at work in her home office.

"I was told it would be challenging at times," she said, adding that it just takes discipline to work from home.

Allurut said she still gets dressed as if she was going to work, gets up at the same time and opens the door to her office at 8:30 a.m. The majority of her work is done by e-mail and by conference calls on Skype. At 5 p.m. when everyone else would be leaving their offices to go home, she simply shuts the door.

Another challenge, she said, is the fact that organizing the workshops takes time as there is no real start or end date.

"You have to go with the flow and work with (employers) on their schedules."

For now, the focus is on employers in Iqaluit, but the program could expand in the future.

In the midst of organizing the first couple of training sessions, Allurut said she cannot wait to see employees benefit from the program, hopefully helping them to gain self-confidence and self-esteem.

"I want to make it so they look forward to going to work," she said.

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